Ski resort on alert after snowboarder's terrifying encounter with bear: 'Our eyes met'

Residents of Japan are on alert amid a rise in bears venturing into residential and commercial spaces where humans gather. 

What's happening?

The Japan Times covered the emergence of bear encounters on ski resorts in the Nagano Prefecture. 

The Hakuba47 Mountain Sports Park received two reports of bear sightings on the ski slopes, which prompted employees to survey the area for public safety. 

"We've been patrolling to check if there are bear footprints every day since we received two sighting reports," said Kazuya Shirakawa, a ski resort employee at Hakuba47, per the publication. 

Bears have also been increasingly prevalent in other aspects of daily life in Japan, even earning the country's kanji character of the year. 

Between April and December, there have been 13 fatal bear attacks throughout the country, with reports of bears entering residential homes or wandering near commercial spaces like grocery stores. 

Why are bear encounters concerning?

Encountering a bear while out on the mountains is a frightening experience. There is only one way to go, and it is downwards. 

One snowboarder who crossed paths with a bear while snowboarding down an unknown mountain recalled the incident. 

"It nearly collided with me ... and our eyes met," the snowboarder described, per The Japan Times. "Had I fallen I would have been caught. Had I collided I might have been attacked."

Ski resorts have warned guests not to eat outdoors or leave trash unattended, as this can attract wildlife such as bears. Unfortunately, as human activity expands into wildlife habitats, even the most innocent actions can become hazards.

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Bears often learn to associate human activity areas with food, increasing the possibility of dangerous encounters. 

Directly feeding bears in nature is strongly discouraged for this reason, as bears will continue to approach humans and residential spaces for more food. 

As rising global temperatures drive ecosystem shifts and resource scarcity, bears are increasingly forced to hunt for food outside their usual habitats. 

These encounters aren't limited to Japan. In the United States, one elderly couple in the Lake Tahoe area unexpectedly stumbled across a bear in their garage, and the incident ended with deep scratches for both people after the bear became spooked. 

What's being done about bear encounters?

The Hakuba47 ski resort issued a public service announcement warning ski resort guests of the potential bear sightings and discouraging outdoor eating and leaving food unattended. 

Wildlife agencies like the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have also published public education materials on bear safety to prepare against unexpected bear encounters and to reduce fatal injuries.

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